Then and Now

Robert Salladay has a good piece in this morning’s Los Angeles Times comparing Governor Schwarzenegger’s trip to the California State Fair yesterday and his seemingly more impromptu romp on the fair grounds in 2003. This seems to be an essential problem for the governor: two years ago he was seen as an outsider, promising to change “politics as usual,” while today a majority of Californians see his as a politician. Salladay writes: Schwarzenegger came to the fair with a retinue: an official photographer, a videographer, a communications director, a press secretary, a government press aide, a campaign press aide, a personal aide. Two other men helped set up the sound system, along with additional staff members and state fair workers. During the 2003 fair visit, Schwarzenegger plunged into the crowd without much fuss. But Friday, public and press were kept at bay. "It's not open to access," a fair official said to reporters gathering near the governor's SUV after the event. "Move back or we might have to escort you to the sandcastle." The key question is whether or not the Governor can tap back into the populist wave he rode to recall victory in this fall's special election.